The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has opened applications for the next term of its Core Residency Program, a two-year residency for emerging artists and critical writers. The 2027-29 term runs from September 2027 to July 2029, and applications are due on 8 January 2027.

The programme, run through the museum's Glassell School of Art, is aimed at highly motivated practitioners committed to building a sustainable practice. Fellows receive a private studio and regular visits from artists and curators, along with free and discounted classes at the Glassell School. They can also request access to fabrication workshops covering painting, printmaking, digital and film photography, sculpture, jewellery and ceramics.

Beyond the studio, the residency opens up the wider resources of the museum. Fellows have access to the museum's galleries and collections, its two house museums devoted to American and European decorative arts, and borrowing privileges at the Hirsch Library and at Rice University's Fondren Library. The combination is designed to support research as much as production, giving writers and artists the same institutional footing.

The Core programme is one of the longest-running residencies of its kind in the United States and has a strong record of launching careers: past fellows have gone on to significant exhibitions, teaching posts and gallery representation. For emerging artists in particular, two years of funded studio time, curatorial attention and access to a major encyclopaedic collection is a rare platform.

Applications and full instructions are available through the museum's website at mfah.org/core. The January deadline gives applicants just over two months to prepare proposals, work samples and references for a programme that begins the following September.